FRANKFORT, Ky. – Governor Ernie Fletcher and Brigadier General Norman Arflack, Deputy Adjutant General for Kentucky, today joined Lieutenant General Clyde Vaughan, Director of the Army National Guard, in announcing Kentucky’s participation in a new recruiting program for the National Guard.

“We are proud that Kentucky has been selected for this program,” said Governor Fletcher. “The Kentucky Army National Guard has proven itself to be the best of the best, both in time of war and in time of peace. Our participation in this landmark recruiting effort validates the role the Kentucky Guard has played the national defense and the fighting pioneer spirit of Kentuckians across the commonwealth.”

The Guard Recruiter Assistant Program (G-RAP) involves traditional part-time soldiers who are hired and trained by a civilian contractor to serve as part time recruiter assistants. Each recruiter assistant will seek recruits from their contacts in daily life. Once a potential soldier is both identified and pre-qualified, the recruiter assistant will facilitate a meeting with the local full-time recruiter, who will in turn help process the recruit.

G-RAP provides incentives to the part-time soldiers who participate in the recruiting effort. Upon enlistment of the new recruit, the recruiter assistant will receive an initial payment of $1,000, with a second $1,000 payment during the sponsorship phase for successful shipment to basic combat training.

G-RAP is designed to reduce the cost of recruiting new Soldiers as well as increase the number of new Soldiers recruited. It will involve unit members in the process of raising the strength of their own unit.

“We are honored to be chosen to help launch this program,” said Brigadier General Arflack. “The Kentucky Army National Guard is a world class organization and our recruiting record shows it. Right now we are number one across the nation in recruiting for the Army Guard. Based on that performance record we feel that we have a lot to contribute to building the overall strength of the Army National Guard.”

There will be a total of sixteen test states taking part in the program with five states in the initial launch. Kentucky joins Indiana, Missouri, North Dakota and West Virginia in the first phase. The remaining test states are Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Wisconsin and Wyoming.